As thousands of baseball fans poured out of Wrigley Field after a Chicago Cubs game in June 2017, a man named Ryan Hamilton witnessed a kind act that restored his faith in humanity.
Hamilton saw a blind Cubs fan standing on the sidewalk trying to hail a cab. Several minutes had passed, but not one taxi would stop for him.
He was on a rooftop across the street at the time and was unable to help the man. But a few moments later, he saw a pedestrian come out of a restaurant and walk over to the man to help.
That woman was then 26-year-old Casey Spelman, a speech and language pathologist for the deaf at an Indiana school.
Spelman was visiting friends in the area when she saw Dale, who was waving his hand in an attempt to stop a taxi. She split from her friends, approached him, and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Do you want some help getting a cab?” she asked the Cubs fan, who was later identified as Yusef Dale, an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago.
“Yeah, you sound pretty, so cabs will probably stop for you before me,” Dale responded jokingly.
Spelman walked out into the street to hail a cab, and the pair talked about baseball and how crowded the area was after the Saturday afternoon game while waiting. After a few minutes, a taxi pulled up in front of them.
Spelman asked Dale whether he wanted to sit in front or at the back. She gave the blind man a goodbye hug and helped him inside the vehicle.
“We laughed and exchanged goodbyes and went our separate ways,” Spelman recalled of their encounter.
She didn’t think anything of her kind act. But Hamilton, who watched their interaction from above, was so touched by the scene. He took pictures of the pair and posted them on Facebook, praising Spelman for helping the man.
“Awesome to see such kindness in a world,” Hamilton wrote in the post’s caption.
The next day, Spelman was shocked to see photos of her and Dale on the internet.
“It was a strange feeling to see photos of yourself that you did not know were taken,” she said. “Not only did I not realize anyone was watching, but I had no idea it would have such an impact on people.”
Spelman was first alerted about the photos by one of her sorority sisters the night after they were posted. At the time, the post had about 50 shares, which she thought was a lot, but she assumed that it was mostly from people Hamilton knew.
But by the next morning, a few of her other friends and family members texted her about it and shared the post. And it only continued to blow up from there.
Hamilton was also surprised to see the massive attention his post has gotten.
“It’s crazy how the power of social media and networking has caused this to take off,” he told TODAY. “To think of all of the people that have seen the post or the images or how many people have been inspired by it is kind of mind-boggling.”
Spelman is glad that her good deed is inspiring others. She hopes that her example will encourage people to step out of their comfort zones when they find themselves in a similar position.
“It’s OK if you are unsure of how to interact with someone, but do your best, be brave, and just be willing to help,” she said. “I think if you treat someone with respect it will always be appreciated.”
Indeed, the world will be a much better place if we treat others with kindness. Check out the video below to learn more about this story.
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